RAMAKRISHNA MISSIONSINGAPORE MICA(P)014/09/2011

ISSN0218-7183

Issue No :74Jul- Sep 2012

In this issue...

More than a hundred years ago Swami Vivekananda made an impassionate plea to smoothen the friction between vari-ous faiths when he addressed the Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893. The Swami’s call was made on the ba-sis of the the teachings and advice of his Master, Sri Ram-akrishna who found truth in different religions and conflicting sects. How Sri Ramakrishna filtered this truth is explained in Swami Muktirupananda’s article on Multi-sided Teacher. (p.3)

To supplement our series on The Ramayana, we bring you an in-depth study on the Sundara Kanda by Mr R. Jeyasekar, who writes for this magazine from Malaysia. He explains how this chapter is aptly named “Sundara” (Beautiful) (p.11)

The Ramayana serial itself is on page 19. Ravana seems bent on capturing Sita. Though he initially accepted Maricha’s advice against such a misadventure, goaded by Soorpanakha’s harsh words at her humiliation, he decides to go ahead with the plan.

Ever seen or heard of the Gramophone? Experience the thrill of the cream of European intelligentsia who were the first to see and hear the German scholar Max Müller kick off Edison’s new invention with Sanskrit hymns from The Rig Veda.(p.21)

As part of the world-wide celebrations marking Swami Vivekananda’s 150th Birth anniversary, we bring you a short report on Paris honouring the world teacher (p. 23)

State of Spiritual enlightenment or illumination. Nirvana releases humans from the cycle of birth, suffering, death and all forms of worldly bondage.

Edited and Published by Swami Muktirupananda, President, Ramakrishna Mission, 179 Bartley Road, Singapore 539784 Tel: 6288 9077 Fax: 6288 5798.email: office@ramakrishna.org.sg, Website: www.ramakrishna.org.sg Print Production: EAZI Printing Pte Ltd

Uddhava GitaTranslated by Swami Madhavananda

Śrī bhagavān uvāca

Iṣteha devatā yajnair gatvā ramsyamahe divi

Tasyānta iha bhuyāsma mahāśālā mahākulāh

Evam puṣpitayā vācā vyākṣiptamanasām nrinam

Maninācādistabdhānām madvārtāpi na rochate

Vedā brahmātmaviṣayāstrikāndaviṣyā ime

Parokṣavādā rṣayah pārokṣam mama ca priyam

The Lord said

(They think:) Worshipping the gods here through sacrifices we shall go to heaven and enjoy there, at the end of which we shall (again) be born in noble families with large mansions.

These men, who with their minds thus upset by the flowery statements in the scriptures, are vain and exceedingly greedy, never like even a reference to Me.

The Vedas comprising three sections (dealing respectively with ceremonials, Brahman and the gods) really deal with the identity of Jiva and Brahman. But the Mantras are indirect in their import, and this indirectness I like.

(To be continued) Uddhava Gita, XVI, 28, 33-35

WisdomPearls of

In this issue...

More than a hundred years ago Swami Vivekananda made an impassionate plea to smoothen the friction between vari-ous faiths when he addressed the Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893. The Swami’s call was made on the ba-sis of the the teachings and advice of his Master, Sri Ram-akrishna who found truth in different religions and conflicting sects. How Sri Ramakrishna filtered this truth is explained in Swami Muktirupananda’s article on Multi-sided Teacher. (p.3)

To supplement our series on The Ramayana, we bring you an in-depth study on the Sundara Kanda by Mr R. Jeyasekar, who writes for this magazine from Malaysia. He explains how this chapter is aptly named “Sundara” (Beautiful) (p.11)

The Ramayana serial itself is on page 19. Ravana seems bent on capturing Sita. Though he initially accepted Maricha’s advice against such a misadventure, goaded by Soorpanakha’s harsh words at her humiliation, he decides to go ahead with the plan.

Ever seen or heard of the Gramophone? Experience the thrill of the cream of European intelligentsia who were the first to see and hear the German scholar Max Müller kick off Edison’s new invention with Sanskrit hymns from The Rig Veda.(p.21)

As part of the world-wide celebrations marking Swami Vivekananda’s 150th Birth anniversary, we bring you a short report on Paris honouring the world teacher (p. 23)

State of Spiritual enlightenment or illumination. Nirvana releases humans from the cycle of birth, suffering, death and all forms of worldly bondage.

Edited and Published by Swami Muktirupananda, President, Ramakrishna Mission, 179 Bartley Road, Singapore 539784 Tel: 6288 9077 Fax: 6288 5798.email: office@ramakrishna.org.sg, Website: www.ramakrishna.org.sg Print Production: EAZI Printing Pte Ltd

Uddhava GitaTranslated by Swami Madhavananda

Śrī bhagavān uvāca

Iṣteha devatā yajnair gatvā ramsyamahe divi

Tasyānta iha bhuyāsma mahāśālā mahākulāh

Evam puṣpitayā vācā vyākṣiptamanasām nrinam

Maninācādistabdhānām madvārtāpi na rochate

Vedā brahmātmaviṣayāstrikāndaviṣyā ime

Parokṣavādā rṣayah pārokṣam mama ca priyam

The Lord said

(They think:) Worshipping the gods here through sacrifices we shall go to heaven and enjoy there, at the end of which we shall (again) be born in noble families with large mansions.

These men, who with their minds thus upset by the flowery statements in the scriptures, are vain and exceedingly greedy, never like even a reference to Me.

The Vedas comprising three sections (dealing respectively with ceremonials, Brahman and the gods) really deal with the identity of Jiva and Brahman. But the Mantras are indirect in their import, and this indirectness I like.

(To be continued) Uddhava Gita, XVI, 28, 33-35

WisdomPearls of

1

Work and Result

There is a startling statement in the Gita (2 - 47) which says, “Do your work wholeheartedly and do not trouble yourself with its result.” This creates a doubt in the minds of people. How can we work

without looking for outcome? Does it not take away all our enthusiasm, interest and motive to work? Anticipating result is the common trait of people. Is it possible to work unduly concerning oneself with a result? We may cite the following reasons to support the Gita’s advice.

1) Every action brings some negative or positive result. The result does not depend solely on a single cause but on many other unpredictable factors. Human effort is one of the factors and not everything. That is why people get disappointed when they do not see expected result or success. Outcome is not in human hands whereas the effort is. Anticipating a definite outcome ends in frustration and despair.

2) When we anticipate an outcome before we begin work, worry, anxiety and fear start assailing us whether we will succeed or not. This nagging doubt drains energy, disturbs concentration and in turn affects performance. A disturbed mind cannot do any work properly. The totally relaxed mind, free from anxious thoughts does its best. Work is more important than its result. The means determine the end.

3) When we love work we are not concerned with anything else. Doing itself is self-fulfilling and delightful. To a mother looking after her baby is neither a duty nor a burden. She feels contented and happy to do it. Work is neither big nor small. What matters is how one performs it. When little works are done with full attention and care it is not difficult to do big tasks diligently.

4) The human ego is very narrow and short-sighted. It is excessively concerned with its success and failure and seldom thinks of well-being of others. When one works for collective welfare one ignores his gains or losses, success or failure or selfish motives and devotes himself to work. It opens the doors to higher human evolution.

5) Even if the outcome is not satisfactory, it is not the end of the world nor does it make one’s life worthless. There will be many more opportunities, many more chances.

Editorial

what is essential is internal long-ing and devotion.

To illustrate it there is a touching story about an uncivi-lized, crude hunter called Kan-nappan. Shankaracharya also mentions this story in his book Shivananda Lahari. The story might be true or might not be. But it brings home the cardinal point that love for and devotion to God are more important and not the external observances. This hunter Kannappan once found a Shivalinga in the for-est and became a devotee of Shiva. As he was totally igno-rant of ritualistic worship he did it in his own peculiar way. How to bathe the Shivalinga? As he had no vessel he would go to a stream fill his mouth with water and come back and pour it on Shiva. That was Shiva’s sacred bath, abhisheka. Before offering wild fruits and chunks of meat he would take a bite of everything, to see whether they were good. That was his offering, naivedya. One day God wanted to test his depth of devotion. When the hunter came to worship Shiva he saw blood trickling from one eye of the Linga. Without hesita-tion he plucked his own eye and fixed on it. The blood stopped.

God is described as ‘Sar-vato mukhah’ – He has faces in all directions.

It means He is all-knowing and all-seeing. Divine Mother is also called ‘Viswato mukhihi’. God is the Self of all beings and works through them, in other words, He is all pervasive. This is philosoph-ical interpretation of the word and there is also another explanation by dvaitins, the followers of the path of devotion. They say God has countless faces and each face is turned towards every sin-gle devotee. Whether one is a novice or advanced in spiritual life everyone receives his love and care. They further insist, ‘Anen eva grihah na anyen iti niyamam nirdhuya tesham kena-pi vyajen supraveshwanat’. The meaning is, only this path leads to Him and no other path, such dogmatic assertion God ignores, He allows everyone to reach Him in their own way. Everyone can think of Him and worship Him in any form as they feel and come to Him. There is no single path or method. God reaches out to all his devotees impartially wher-ever they are and whatever their mode of worship or way of re-membering Him. This statement tries to drive home the idea that externals do not matter much,

Multi-sided TeacherSwami Muktirupananda

2

4) The human ego is very narrow and short-sighted. It is excessivelyconcerned with its success and failure and seldom thinks of well-being of others. When one works for collective welfare one ignoreshis gains or losses, success or failure or selfish motives and devoteshimself to work. It opens the doors to higher human evolution.

Work and Result

There is a startling statement in the Gita (2 - 47) which says, “Do your work wholeheartedly and do not trouble yourself with its result.” This creates a doubt in the minds of people. How can we work

without looking for outcome? Does it not take away all our enthusiasm, interest and motive to work? Anticipating result is the common trait of people. Is it possible to work unduly concerning oneself with a result? We may cite the following reasons to support the Gita’s advice.

1) Every action brings some negative or positive result. The result does not depend solely on a single cause but on many other unpredictable factors. Human effort is one of the factors and not everything. That is why people get disappointed when they do not see expected result or success. Outcome is not in human hands whereas the effort is. Anticipating a definite outcome ends in frustration and despair.

2) When we anticipate an outcome before we begin work, worry, anxiety and fear start assailing us whether we will succeed or not. This nagging doubt drains energy, disturbs concentration and in turn affects performance. A disturbed mind cannot do any work properly. The totally relaxed mind, free from anxious thoughts does its best. Work is more important than its result. The means determine the end.

3) When we love work we are not concerned with anything else. Doing itself is self-fulfilling and delightful. To a mother looking after her baby is neither a duty nor a burden. She feels contented and happy to do it. Work is neither big nor small. What matters is how one performs it. When little works are done with full attention and care it is not difficult to do big tasks diligently.

4) The human ego is very narrow and short-sighted. It is excessively concerned with its success and failure and seldom thinks of well-being of others. When one works for collective welfare one ignores his gains or losses, success or failure or selfish motives and devotes himself to work. It opens the doors to higher human evolution.

5) Even if the outcome is not satisfactory, it is not the end of the world nor does it make one’s life worthless. There will be many more opportunities, many more chances.

Editorial

what is essential is internal long-ing and devotion.

To illustrate it there is a touching story about an uncivi-lized, crude hunter called Kan-nappan. Shankaracharya also mentions this story in his book Shivananda Lahari. The story might be true or might not be. But it brings home the cardinal point that love for and devotion to God are more important and not the external observances. This hunter Kannappan once found a Shivalinga in the for-est and became a devotee of Shiva. As he was totally igno-rant of ritualistic worship he did it in his own peculiar way. How to bathe the Shivalinga? As he had no vessel he would go to a stream fill his mouth with water and come back and pour it on Shiva. That was Shiva’s sacred bath, abhisheka. Before offering wild fruits and chunks of meat he would take a bite of everything, to see whether they were good. That was his offering, naivedya. One day God wanted to test his depth of devotion. When the hunter came to worship Shiva he saw blood trickling from one eye of the Linga. Without hesita-tion he plucked his own eye and fixed on it. The blood stopped.

God is described as ‘Sar-vato mukhah’ – He has faces in all directions.

It means He is all-knowing and all-seeing. Divine Mother is also called ‘Viswato mukhihi’. God is the Self of all beings and works through them, in other words, He is all pervasive. This is philosoph-ical interpretation of the word and there is also another explanation by dvaitins, the followers of the path of devotion. They say God has countless faces and each face is turned towards every sin-gle devotee. Whether one is a novice or advanced in spiritual life everyone receives his love and care. They further insist, ‘Anen eva grihah na anyen iti niyamam nirdhuya tesham kena-pi vyajen supraveshwanat’. The meaning is, only this path leads to Him and no other path, such dogmatic assertion God ignores, He allows everyone to reach Him in their own way. Everyone can think of Him and worship Him in any form as they feel and come to Him. There is no single path or method. God reaches out to all his devotees impartially wher-ever they are and whatever their mode of worship or way of re-membering Him. This statement tries to drive home the idea that externals do not matter much,

Multi-sided TeacherSwami Muktirupananda

3

The hunter was happy. Presently he noticed blood oozing from an-other eye. He was ready to pull out his another eye. He knew with the loss of two eyes he would be sightless, so he marked the place before hand with his foot wear. Then he pulled out his another eye. Shiva was highly pleased with Kannappan’s devotion and restored his eye sight.

God’s compassion and grace flow to all devotees irre-spective of their diversity of wor-ship and stage of understanding. We find the truth of this statement in Sri Ramakrishna’s life. He said, “Why should I play only one note on the flute? I will play different melodies through the flute’s sev-en holes.” His mastery over the vast range of spiritual practices and experiences is astounding and unheard of. In spiritual field there was nothing new or unfa-miliar to him, he knew every inch of the spiritual life of humankind. In the words of Romain Rolland, “I am bringing to Europe… a new message of the Soul, the sym-phony of India, bearing the name of Ramakrishna… This sympho-ny … is built up of a hundred dif-ferent musical elements.” (R.R. , The Life of Ramakrishna, page -12). Therefore from his lips never came a single word of condemna-tion or criticism against anyone’s faith or belittling anyone’s prac-tice however crude it might have been. He was like a philosopher’s

stone, whoever received his di-vine touch were transformed into gold. Sri Ramakrishna was a great synthesizer, a religious ge-nius who found truth in all conflict-ing sects and diverse religions. It was not by intellectual analysis but by his irrefutable personal ex-perience. Therefore whenever he defended any sect and its follow-ers from criticism his words rang with authority. He showed to oth-ers the lofty purpose and good qualities behind seemingly some queer spiritual practices and strange philosophy. Each sect thought others were peculiar and misguided but not so Sri Ram-akrishna. He could go into the heart of the matter of every sect, plumb its depths and find out the need for its existence. Therefore variety of spiritual seekers who belonged to dissimilar schools like dvaita, advaita, bhakti, jnana, karma, tantra, yoga and also ag-nostics and atheists flocked to him for his unfailing guidance. So also followers of other religions besides Hinduism sought his help. Rabindranath Tagore while paying his tribute to the Master wrote, ”Diverse streams of spirit-ual disciplines practised by differ-ent seekers have mingled in your meditation.”

Many people have preju-dice against idol worship. They think it is lower stage in religious life and only intellectually imma-

ture people hold onto it. During Sri Ramakrishna’s time this view was predominant in educated young people who made fun of image-worship. The Master had to give sledge-hammer blow to this narrow view born out of one’s ignorance. He himself had been a worshipper of Mother’s image and knew fully well the significance of it. When Mahendranath Gupta, the compiler of The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, met the Mas-ter, the latter asked him whether he believed in God with form or without form. ‘M’ was puzzled and thought how could God be both at the same time with form and formless. If he was with form then how could he be without form? Wondering thus ‘M’ replied that he liked to believe in God with-out form. Hearing this the Master said, ”Very good. It is enough to have faith in either aspect of God. You believe in God without form; that is quite all right. But never for a moment think that your faith alone is true and every other is false. Remember that God with form is just as true as God without form. But hold fast to your own conviction” (Gospel, page 80).

M was not convinced and doubts still lingered in his mind. Worship of image of clay or stone was an enigma to him. So he said to the Master that people should be made to understand that clay or stone image was not God and while worshipping it they must

remember God and not clay or stone. Sri Ramakrishna in an ir-ritated tone said, “Suppose there is an error in worshipping the clay image; does not God know that through it He alone is be-ing invoked? He will be pleased with that very worship….. Even if the image is made of clay, there is need for that sort of worship. God Himself has provided differ-ent forms of worship. He who is the Lord of the universe has ar-ranged all these forms to suit dif-ferent men in different stages of knowledge.” (Gospel, page 81).

Images are symbols of God. Through such visible sym-bols, a relationship with invisible God is established. Image re-minds a devotee of God’s pres-ence, fills his mind with divinity and awakens his spiritual feel-ings. He worships and prays not to metal or stone but to his dear deity. When he sees the presence of God he does not see metal, or stone or clay. We see one thing at a time. If we see stone we don’t see God, if we see God we don’t see other things. In this connec-tion Sri Ramakrishna remarked, “An imitation custard-apple re-minds one of the real fruit.”

Though Sri Ramakrishna went far far beyond the stage of image-worship he did not under-mine its necessity nor slight it throughout his life. He once told devotees while he was in Brinda-

4

The hunter was happy. Presently he noticed blood oozing from an-other eye. He was ready to pull out his another eye. He knew with the loss of two eyes he would be sightless, so he marked the place before hand with his foot wear. Then he pulled out his another eye. Shiva was highly pleased with Kannappan’s devotion and restored his eye sight.

God’s compassion and grace flow to all devotees irre-spective of their diversity of wor-ship and stage of understanding. We find the truth of this statement in Sri Ramakrishna’s life. He said, “Why should I play only one note on the flute? I will play different melodies through the flute’s sev-en holes.” His mastery over the vast range of spiritual practices and experiences is astounding and unheard of. In spiritual field there was nothing new or unfa-miliar to him, he knew every inch of the spiritual life of humankind. In the words of Romain Rolland, “I am bringing to Europe… a new message of the Soul, the sym-phony of India, bearing the name of Ramakrishna… This sympho-ny … is built up of a hundred dif-ferent musical elements.” (R.R. , The Life of Ramakrishna, page -12). Therefore from his lips never came a single word of condemna-tion or criticism against anyone’s faith or belittling anyone’s prac-tice however crude it might have been. He was like a philosopher’s

stone, whoever received his di-vine touch were transformed into gold. Sri Ramakrishna was a great synthesizer, a religious ge-nius who found truth in all conflict-ing sects and diverse religions. It was not by intellectual analysis but by his irrefutable personal ex-perience. Therefore whenever he defended any sect and its follow-ers from criticism his words rang with authority. He showed to oth-ers the lofty purpose and good qualities behind seemingly some queer spiritual practices and strange philosophy. Each sect thought others were peculiar and misguided but not so Sri Ram-akrishna. He could go into the heart of the matter of every sect, plumb its depths and find out the need for its existence. Therefore variety of spiritual seekers who belonged to dissimilar schools like dvaita, advaita, bhakti, jnana, karma, tantra, yoga and also ag-nostics and atheists flocked to him for his unfailing guidance. So also followers of other religions besides Hinduism sought his help. Rabindranath Tagore while paying his tribute to the Master wrote, ”Diverse streams of spirit-ual disciplines practised by differ-ent seekers have mingled in your meditation.”

Many people have preju-dice against idol worship. They think it is lower stage in religious life and only intellectually imma-

ture people hold onto it. During Sri Ramakrishna’s time this view was predominant in educated young people who made fun of image-worship. The Master had to give sledge-hammer blow to this narrow view born out of one’s ignorance. He himself had been a worshipper of Mother’s image and knew fully well the significance of it. When Mahendranath Gupta, the compiler of The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, met the Mas-ter, the latter asked him whether he believed in God with form or without form. ‘M’ was puzzled and thought how could God be both at the same time with form and formless. If he was with form then how could he be without form? Wondering thus ‘M’ replied that he liked to believe in God with-out form. Hearing this the Master said, ”Very good. It is enough to have faith in either aspect of God. You believe in God without form; that is quite all right. But never for a moment think that your faith alone is true and every other is false. Remember that God with form is just as true as God without form. But hold fast to your own conviction” (Gospel, page 80).

M was not convinced and doubts still lingered in his mind. Worship of image of clay or stone was an enigma to him. So he said to the Master that people should be made to understand that clay or stone image was not God and while worshipping it they must

remember God and not clay or stone. Sri Ramakrishna in an ir-ritated tone said, “Suppose there is an error in worshipping the clay image; does not God know that through it He alone is be-ing invoked? He will be pleased with that very worship….. Even if the image is made of clay, there is need for that sort of worship. God Himself has provided differ-ent forms of worship. He who is the Lord of the universe has ar-ranged all these forms to suit dif-ferent men in different stages of knowledge.” (Gospel, page 81).

Images are symbols of God. Through such visible sym-bols, a relationship with invisible God is established. Image re-minds a devotee of God’s pres-ence, fills his mind with divinity and awakens his spiritual feel-ings. He worships and prays not to metal or stone but to his dear deity. When he sees the presence of God he does not see metal, or stone or clay. We see one thing at a time. If we see stone we don’t see God, if we see God we don’t see other things. In this connec-tion Sri Ramakrishna remarked, “An imitation custard-apple re-minds one of the real fruit.”

Though Sri Ramakrishna went far far beyond the stage of image-worship he did not under-mine its necessity nor slight it throughout his life. He once told devotees while he was in Brinda-

5

van he went into Samadhi at the sight of the image of Banku Vihari (Krishna). Many examples in his life show what deep devotion and reverence he had for the images of God. A wandering monk Jatad-hari came to Dakshineswar. He was a devotee of Lord Rama and always carried with him a brass image of Ramalala – boy Rama. Jatadhari was deeply devoted to this image and used to worship it with his whole heart. The moment Sri Ramakrishna saw this monk, he knew he was no ordinary dev-otee. Jatadhari in fact had the vision of boy Rama, the image became living Rama. The Master immediately took great interest in the monk and would sit with him hours in watching the play of boy Rama. As the days passed Ra-malala loved Sri Ramakrishna more and more and spent most of the time with him. The boy would run everywhere plucking flowers or splashing or swimming in Gan-ga or run in the hot Sun. When he was too naughty Sri Ramakrishna would give him a couple of slaps and later would feel sad and take him on his lap and comfort him. Jatadhari became convinced that his God Rama was always with him and he could see him when-ever he desired. So he gave the image to Sri Ramakrishna and left Dakshineswar.

Another example is of Aghoremani or Gopal’s mother. She was a poor widow devoted

to child Krishna. She lived in a little room located in a corner of Krishna temple. She worshipped Krishna and did some service in the temple. Day and night she repeated the name of Krishna and meditated on him for many years. Later she came to know the Master and drawn by his irre-sistible divine pull started visiting him frequently. One morning af-ter finishing her meditation in her tiny room she was astonished to find Sri Ramakrishna sitting to her left side with a smile. She tried to catch him by the hand. As she did so the form of the Master dis-appeared and child Krishna ap-peared in his place and crawled towards her demanding food. The child sat on her lap, jumped on her shoulder and snatched her rosary. Aghoremani was in ec-stasy. She carried child Krishna in her arms to Dakshineswar. After a few months her visions became less and less. She identified her Krishna with the Master. This is called Vatsalya attitude -- look-ing upon God as one’s own child. Bhakti yoga tells of five kinds of loving relationship a devotee can have with God: Shanta- serene, dasya – servant, vatsalya – child, sakhya – friend, madhura – lover. Sri Ramakrishna had achieved perfection in all these attitudes therefore he could lead devotees to reach their goal. We know Bhairavi, a wan-dering nun, came in search of Sri Ramakrishna to Dakshineswar

in order to train him in Tantra. The Master became the disci-ple of Bhairavi. She made him practise for two years the main disciplines of Tantras. Tantra is a distinct spiritual tradition of Hinduism and is usually prac-tised under the guidance of a guru. Tantrics are the wor-shippers of Shiva and Shakti. In course of time Tantric sad-

hana, which requires tremen-dous self-control, in the hands of weak persons degenerated and came under severe criti-cism. People were skeptical and suspicious about this mode of practice. The Master attained perfection in the tra-dition of Tantras and set an example before the sincere aspirants. Later he was able to assist, advise many devotees who sought his help in Tantric

discipline. He restored once again in this age the fading credibility of ancient Tantras and showed it was also a way, though difficult, to God-realiza-tion. Although Bhairavi was a well-advanced yogini, she did not achieve full realiza-tion of the non-dual Brahman or formless aspect of God.

She was one-sided and clung to duality, the aspect of form. When Totapuri, a monk who was knower of Brahman, want-ed to teach Sri Ramakrishna the highest state of indivisible Brahman, Bhairavi objected. She warned the Master not to visit and mix frequently with Totapuri. She also cautioned him that by learning dry Ve-danta he would lose love and devotion for God. Bhairavi in

6

van he went into Samadhi at the sight of the image of Banku Vihari (Krishna). Many examples in his life show what deep devotion and reverence he had for the images of God. A wandering monk Jatad-hari came to Dakshineswar. He was a devotee of Lord Rama and always carried with him a brass image of Ramalala – boy Rama. Jatadhari was deeply devoted to this image and used to worship it with his whole heart. The moment Sri Ramakrishna saw this monk, he knew he was no ordinary dev-otee. Jatadhari in fact had the vision of boy Rama, the image became living Rama. The Master immediately took great interest in the monk and would sit with him hours in watching the play of boy Rama. As the days passed Ra-malala loved Sri Ramakrishna more and more and spent most of the time with him. The boy would run everywhere plucking flowers or splashing or swimming in Gan-ga or run in the hot Sun. When he was too naughty Sri Ramakrishna would give him a couple of slaps and later would feel sad and take him on his lap and comfort him. Jatadhari became convinced that his God Rama was always with him and he could see him when-ever he desired. So he gave the image to Sri Ramakrishna and left Dakshineswar.

Another example is of Aghoremani or Gopal’s mother. She was a poor widow devoted

to child Krishna. She lived in a little room located in a corner of Krishna temple. She worshipped Krishna and did some service in the temple. Day and night she repeated the name of Krishna and meditated on him for many years. Later she came to know the Master and drawn by his irre-sistible divine pull started visiting him frequently. One morning af-ter finishing her meditation in her tiny room she was astonished to find Sri Ramakrishna sitting to her left side with a smile. She tried to catch him by the hand. As she did so the form of the Master dis-appeared and child Krishna ap-peared in his place and crawled towards her demanding food. The child sat on her lap, jumped on her shoulder and snatched her rosary. Aghoremani was in ec-stasy. She carried child Krishna in her arms to Dakshineswar. After a few months her visions became less and less. She identified her Krishna with the Master. This is called Vatsalya attitude -- look-ing upon God as one’s own child. Bhakti yoga tells of five kinds of loving relationship a devotee can have with God: Shanta- serene, dasya – servant, vatsalya – child, sakhya – friend, madhura – lover. Sri Ramakrishna had achieved perfection in all these attitudes therefore he could lead devotees to reach their goal. We know Bhairavi, a wan-dering nun, came in search of Sri Ramakrishna to Dakshineswar

in order to train him in Tantra. The Master became the disci-ple of Bhairavi. She made him practise for two years the main disciplines of Tantras. Tantra is a distinct spiritual tradition of Hinduism and is usually prac-tised under the guidance of a guru. Tantrics are the wor-shippers of Shiva and Shakti. In course of time Tantric sad-

hana, which requires tremen-dous self-control, in the hands of weak persons degenerated and came under severe criti-cism. People were skeptical and suspicious about this mode of practice. The Master attained perfection in the tra-dition of Tantras and set an example before the sincere aspirants. Later he was able to assist, advise many devotees who sought his help in Tantric

discipline. He restored once again in this age the fading credibility of ancient Tantras and showed it was also a way, though difficult, to God-realiza-tion. Although Bhairavi was a well-advanced yogini, she did not achieve full realiza-tion of the non-dual Brahman or formless aspect of God.

She was one-sided and clung to duality, the aspect of form. When Totapuri, a monk who was knower of Brahman, want-ed to teach Sri Ramakrishna the highest state of indivisible Brahman, Bhairavi objected. She warned the Master not to visit and mix frequently with Totapuri. She also cautioned him that by learning dry Ve-danta he would lose love and devotion for God. Bhairavi in

7

her motherly love for him for-got that Sri Ramakrishna came to this world for a special pur-pose and vainly tried to limit the unlimited. To experience all the forms of spirituality and share that unique wisdom with the mankind, was the purpose of his advent. A world-teacher cannot be one-sided, he is for all. Those who followed the path of Jnana, his own disci-ples and other seekers derived immense benefit from his ad-vaitic experience.

Totapuri reaching Dak-shineswar immediately noticed Sri Ramakrishna. With his deep spiritual insight he rec-ognized that this young man was someone extraordinary. He felt a keen urge to teach him. He told Sri Ramakrishna that he appeared to be a fit candidate to practise the ad-vaita sadhana, was he ready to learn ? The Master having obtained Divine Mother’s con-sent plunged into the realm of non-dual Brahman. He, under the guidance of Totapuri, expe-rienced the highest state of sa-madhi which is beyond name and form. His mind merged in the infinite consciousness.

Totapuri was an un-compromising non-dualist and he believed only in indivisible

Brahman. To him gods and goddesses were unreal and sometimes he even made fun of them. Images, maya, divine play and grace of God in his eyes were superstitions. He never went to any temple nor performed any rituals. The re-alization of this monk was not perfect and he needed a les-son to correct his imperfect view. Sri Ramakrishna had to demonstrate to him that devo-tion to personal God was also a way to attain the knowledge of Oneness and maya is not a myth. This broad–minded monk after a painful experi-ence understood and accept-ed the power of maya and God the wielder of that maya. The Master made Totapuri to un-derstand the non-difference between jnana and bhakti. Jnana is meant only for few and bhakti comes more eas-ily to the great majority. The Master could easily move from jnana to bhakti and bhakti to jnana.

Swami Vivekananda at the beginning did not believe in the worship of personal God, namely, the Divine Mother. Sri Ramakrishna tried to convince him the need for such worship. Later Vivekananda fell into such dire circumstances that he had to accept the existence

of personal God. The Master was extremely happy because he knew his disciple would preach his unique message of harmony of all faiths and all paths to the world. There-fore he should be all-inclusive, broad and catholic. The world had seen enough one–sided exclusively dogmatic preach-ing thereby creating needless division and rift in society. For this reason Sri Ramakrishna carefully trained Vivekananda. To the Master personal God was true, so also the imper-sonal Brahman.

Sri Ramakrishna is unique and unlike other saints because he held aloft the en-tire spiritual heritage of man-kind. In him all streams of spir-itual sadhana mingled. He was the Kalpataru. Spiritual aspir-ants following divergent paths got whatever they desired from him. He said, ”Both my hands are free. I am not afraid of any-thing. I accept both the Nitya and the Lila, both the Absolute and the Relative.” (Gospel, p-480) It is astonishing to see how varied groups of people flocked around him.

Sikh soldiers and monks of the Nanaka panthis held him in high esteem. They frequently visited, clarified their

doubts and received instruc-tions from him. They paid him the same reverence as they to their ten gurus.

After finishing his Is-lamic sadhana he attracted many Muslims to him. Few Muslim fakirs now and then visited him and discussed with him religious matters. So also ordinary people came to re-ceive his blessings.

Today in many Chris-tian countries, a number of people worship him as they worship Jesus Christ. They do not see much difference be-tween them except one came early and another came later. Sri Ramakrishna described his own experience; while walking one day in the Panchavati he saw a tall stately figure with lustrous eyes and beautiful face of Jesus Christ. Jesus came to him and embraced him and then passed into his body. Romain Rolland remarked, “Later it came to pass that In-dian Christians recognized in him a direct manifestation of the Christ and went into ec-stasy before him.”(R. Rolland, Ramakrishna page, 84). A few earnest devotees belonging to Christian faith saw in the Mas-ter the revelation of the Christ.

8

her motherly love for him for-got that Sri Ramakrishna came to this world for a special pur-pose and vainly tried to limit the unlimited. To experience all the forms of spirituality and share that unique wisdom with the mankind, was the purpose of his advent. A world-teacher cannot be one-sided, he is for all. Those who followed the path of Jnana, his own disci-ples and other seekers derived immense benefit from his ad-vaitic experience.

Totapuri reaching Dak-shineswar immediately noticed Sri Ramakrishna. With his deep spiritual insight he rec-ognized that this young man was someone extraordinary. He felt a keen urge to teach him. He told Sri Ramakrishna that he appeared to be a fit candidate to practise the ad-vaita sadhana, was he ready to learn ? The Master having obtained Divine Mother’s con-sent plunged into the realm of non-dual Brahman. He, under the guidance of Totapuri, expe-rienced the highest state of sa-madhi which is beyond name and form. His mind merged in the infinite consciousness.

Totapuri was an un-compromising non-dualist and he believed only in indivisible

Brahman. To him gods and goddesses were unreal and sometimes he even made fun of them. Images, maya, divine play and grace of God in his eyes were superstitions. He never went to any temple nor performed any rituals. The re-alization of this monk was not perfect and he needed a les-son to correct his imperfect view. Sri Ramakrishna had to demonstrate to him that devo-tion to personal God was also a way to attain the knowledge of Oneness and maya is not a myth. This broad–minded monk after a painful experi-ence understood and accept-ed the power of maya and God the wielder of that maya. The Master made Totapuri to un-derstand the non-difference between jnana and bhakti. Jnana is meant only for few and bhakti comes more eas-ily to the great majority. The Master could easily move from jnana to bhakti and bhakti to jnana.

Swami Vivekananda at the beginning did not believe in the worship of personal God, namely, the Divine Mother. Sri Ramakrishna tried to convince him the need for such worship. Later Vivekananda fell into such dire circumstances that he had to accept the existence

of personal God. The Master was extremely happy because he knew his disciple would preach his unique message of harmony of all faiths and all paths to the world. There-fore he should be all-inclusive, broad and catholic. The world had seen enough one–sided exclusively dogmatic preach-ing thereby creating needless division and rift in society. For this reason Sri Ramakrishna carefully trained Vivekananda. To the Master personal God was true, so also the imper-sonal Brahman.

Sri Ramakrishna is unique and unlike other saints because he held aloft the en-tire spiritual heritage of man-kind. In him all streams of spir-itual sadhana mingled. He was the Kalpataru. Spiritual aspir-ants following divergent paths got whatever they desired from him. He said, ”Both my hands are free. I am not afraid of any-thing. I accept both the Nitya and the Lila, both the Absolute and the Relative.” (Gospel, p-480) It is astonishing to see how varied groups of people flocked around him.

Sikh soldiers and monks of the Nanaka panthis held him in high esteem. They frequently visited, clarified their

doubts and received instruc-tions from him. They paid him the same reverence as they to their ten gurus.

After finishing his Is-lamic sadhana he attracted many Muslims to him. Few Muslim fakirs now and then visited him and discussed with him religious matters. So also ordinary people came to re-ceive his blessings.

Today in many Chris-tian countries, a number of people worship him as they worship Jesus Christ. They do not see much difference be-tween them except one came early and another came later. Sri Ramakrishna described his own experience; while walking one day in the Panchavati he saw a tall stately figure with lustrous eyes and beautiful face of Jesus Christ. Jesus came to him and embraced him and then passed into his body. Romain Rolland remarked, “Later it came to pass that In-dian Christians recognized in him a direct manifestation of the Christ and went into ec-stasy before him.”(R. Rolland, Ramakrishna page, 84). A few earnest devotees belonging to Christian faith saw in the Mas-ter the revelation of the Christ.

9

Even the skeptics and atheists who argued with him were moved by his purity, love and childlike simplicity. Some power in him held them in awe and wonder which they could not understand.

Once a highly educat-ed gentleman from north India came to Sri Ramakrishna. He was an agnostic and had long discussion with the Master. He confessed that he had great mental unrest but he would not pray to God because he did not believe in his existence! Sri Ramakrishna said to him if he had no objection in praying like this, “If you really are then listen to my prayer.” If prayed like in this way that would do him good. The gentleman thought over it and agreed to do so. The Master asked him to follow the advice and come to him again. The gen-tleman came again and was a changed man. Touching the Master’s feet, he wept as he said, “You have saved me.”

Dr M.L. Sarkar, a fa-mous physician, treated Sri Ramakrishna for cancer. He had strong prejudice against image worship and could not accept the idea that God as-sumed a human form. His scientific mind was critical

about many spiritual matters. With such skeptical mind he observed with wonder the frequent ecstatic states of Sri Ramakrishna. During the states of samadhi he thor-oughly examined the physical conditions of the Master but was perflexed. The uncondi-tional love, simplicity and the astounding spiritual power of the Master cast a spell on the doctor. Whenever he visited the Master for treatment, he spent hours in discussing with him only spiritual subjects and nothing else. Later in his life Dr Sarkar devoted much of his time in thinking of God and de-veloping the spirit of self-sur-render.

Sri Ramakrishna is aptly called ‘Sarvadharma Swarupine’ the embodiment of all faiths, all sects, all yo-gas and all paths. From his life we understand how true is the statement of Shiva mahimna stotra – “As the different rivers having their sources in differ-ent places all mingle their wa-ters in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which persons take through different temper-aments, straight or crooked all lead to thee.” Sri Ramakrishna is ‘Sarvato mukhah’, shower-ing grace and blessings even today, on all who come to him.

Ramayana – the story of Sri Rama the embodi-ment of dharma - what

book is there, what story is there in the world that can compare with this exquisite poem of love, tragedy and tri-umph of the spirit? It stands apart from the great literatures of the world in its grandeur and pathos.

It is the single most important work in Indian cul-ture. It is the one story known throughout the length and breadth of India. It is also known throughout Asia – Indi-an culture spread through the Ramayana.

Its importance and beauty lies in its portrayal of its characters. Very human they are – we can feel their joys and sorrows, we can forgive their faults and be inspired by their strengths. It tells how the ideal man should behave, the ideal woman, the ideal king, the ideal minister, the ideal servant, the ideal husband, the

ideal wife, the ideal brother, the ideal kingdom.

It is also a literary mas-terpiece, poetry par excellence - the ādikāvya, the first true poem – the fruit of the tapas of Vālmīki.

Brahmā the Creator’s description still holds to this day: “As long as the moun-tains stand and the rivers flow, so long shall the Ramayana be cherished among men and save them from sin.”

The Historicity of the Rama-yana

India is old but ever new. It is the oldest living cul-ture in the world. There is a tendency in the modern day to dismiss the historicity of the characters in Indian epics as mere myths, but several scholars are accepting the tra-ditional view that heroes such as Rama and Krishna are real persons around whom stories and legends have grown up

Sundara Kāndam Crest-Jewel of Ramayana

R. Jeyasekar

10

Even the skeptics and atheists who argued with him were moved by his purity, love and childlike simplicity. Some power in him held them in awe and wonder which they could not understand.

Once a highly educat-ed gentleman from north India came to Sri Ramakrishna. He was an agnostic and had long discussion with the Master. He confessed that he had great mental unrest but he would not pray to God because he did not believe in his existence! Sri Ramakrishna said to him if he had no objection in praying like this, “If you really are then listen to my prayer.” If prayed like in this way that would do him good. The gentleman thought over it and agreed to do so. The Master asked him to follow the advice and come to him again. The gen-tleman came again and was a changed man. Touching the Master’s feet, he wept as he said, “You have saved me.”

Dr M.L. Sarkar, a fa-mous physician, treated Sri Ramakrishna for cancer. He had strong prejudice against image worship and could not accept the idea that God as-sumed a human form. His scientific mind was critical

about many spiritual matters. With such skeptical mind he observed with wonder the frequent ecstatic states of Sri Ramakrishna. During the states of samadhi he thor-oughly examined the physical conditions of the Master but was perflexed. The uncondi-tional love, simplicity and the astounding spiritual power of the Master cast a spell on the doctor. Whenever he visited the Master for treatment, he spent hours in discussing with him only spiritual subjects and nothing else. Later in his life Dr Sarkar devoted much of his time in thinking of God and de-veloping the spirit of self-sur-render.

Sri Ramakrishna is aptly called ‘Sarvadharma Swarupine’ the embodiment of all faiths, all sects, all yo-gas and all paths. From his life we understand how true is the statement of Shiva mahimna stotra – “As the different rivers having their sources in differ-ent places all mingle their wa-ters in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which persons take through different temper-aments, straight or crooked all lead to thee.” Sri Ramakrishna is ‘Sarvato mukhah’, shower-ing grace and blessings even today, on all who come to him.

Ramayana – the story of Sri Rama the embodi-ment of dharma - what

book is there, what story is there in the world that can compare with this exquisite poem of love, tragedy and tri-umph of the spirit? It stands apart from the great literatures of the world in its grandeur and pathos.

It is the single most important work in Indian cul-ture. It is the one story known throughout the length and breadth of India. It is also known throughout Asia – Indi-an culture spread through the Ramayana.

Its importance and beauty lies in its portrayal of its characters. Very human they are – we can feel their joys and sorrows, we can forgive their faults and be inspired by their strengths. It tells how the ideal man should behave, the ideal woman, the ideal king, the ideal minister, the ideal servant, the ideal husband, the

ideal wife, the ideal brother, the ideal kingdom.

It is also a literary mas-terpiece, poetry par excellence - the ādikāvya, the first true poem – the fruit of the tapas of Vālmīki.

Brahmā the Creator’s description still holds to this day: “As long as the moun-tains stand and the rivers flow, so long shall the Ramayana be cherished among men and save them from sin.”

The Historicity of the Rama-yana

India is old but ever new. It is the oldest living cul-ture in the world. There is a tendency in the modern day to dismiss the historicity of the characters in Indian epics as mere myths, but several scholars are accepting the tra-ditional view that heroes such as Rama and Krishna are real persons around whom stories and legends have grown up

Sundara Kāndam Crest-Jewel of Ramayana

R. Jeyasekar

11

because of the great impact they have had on the people of the land. It is the story of men who became gods because of their deeds and character.

Sundara Kāṇdam

The Ramayana con-sists of seven chapters called Kāndas, the first six of which were written by Valmiki ac-cording to scholars (the sev-enth Uttara Kānda is consid-ered a later addition). Valmiki named five of the Kāndas after the events associated with the subject matter of the Kānda. So we have the following titles for these Kāndas:

First chapter – Bāla – Kāndam deals with the birth and youth of Rama ending with his marriage to Sita

Second chapter – Ayo-dhya Kāndam – deals with the palace intrigue which resulted in Rama’s banishment to the forest

Third chapter – Aranya Kāndam – deals with Rama and Sita’s stay in the forest and ends with the abduction of Sita

Fourth chapter – Kish-kindha Kāndam – deals with

Rama making friends with Su-griva who sends the Vanaras to search for Sita

Sixth chapter – Yuddha Kāndam – deals with the bat-tle with the forces of Ravana and ends with the coronation of Rama.

However, with regard to the fifth chapter, Valmiki has seen fit to give it a spe-cial name. He did not call it Lanka Kāndam or even Hanu-mat Kāndam, even though the story revolved round Hanuman and Lanka. Instead he chose to call it Sundara – meaning “beautiful”, “elegant”, “charm-ing”, “auspicious”. Why did Val-miki choose to single out this Kāndam above all others? It cannot be because of its size, for it is in fact the shortest with less than 3000 slokas. All parts of the Ramayana are beauti-ful and charming as well, so it cannot be merely on account of its charm. What then is the special place of the Sundara Kāndam in the Ramayana?

If we study the Rama-yana in its original it becomes clear that in this Kāndam Val-miki was at the height of po-etic prowess – this section is Valmiki’s literary and poetic masterpiece. In its depiction

of events, places and charac-ters it is truly Sundara. But it is this and much more. For the word Sundara has many allied meanings and can be applied to all auspicious events.

It is Sundara because it brings glad tidings. Sita, alone and forlorn in Lanka, is relieved of her misery by Ha-numan, and Rama too by the news that Sita had been found.

It is Sundara because sundara also means a mes-sage and messenger. Hanu-man the messenger brings the message of hope to Sita.

It is Sundara because it brings two lovers into mutual contact through an intermedi-ary – Sundara is the name of such an intermediary.

It is Sundara because sundara is the name for mon-key and this section deals with the exploits of the monkey Ha-numan.

It is Sundara because sundara means the recovery of something lost. Sita was lost and was found in this section.

And finally it is Sunda-ra, auspicious, for it contains

the spiritual essence of the Ramayana.

Just as the Choodama-ni (crest jewel) of Sita brought back by Hanuman soothed the heart of Rama, so does the Sundara Kāndam shine as the crest jewel of the Ramayana. It is a mine of spiritual power on which a devotee can draw for spiritual support. Devout Hin-dus believe that daily repetition is potent enough to lift man up from difficult situations, to help in the curing of dangerous dis-eases, to help him attain suc-cess and prosperity, and to promote his welfare in life in every way.

Hanuman –The main charac-ter

Of all the characters in the Ramayana, Hanuman has a special appeal. He is un-doubtedly the true hero of the Ramayana. The whole of the Sundara Kāndam is dedicated to the exploits of Hanuman. In the whole Ramayana dealing with about a span of 35 years, the Sundara Kāndam depicts the events of just one day! But what a day it is.

Valmiki develops well the events leading to the dis-covery of Sita. First, the dis-

12

because of the great impact they have had on the people of the land. It is the story of men who became gods because of their deeds and character.

Sundara Kāṇdam

The Ramayana con-sists of seven chapters called Kāndas, the first six of which were written by Valmiki ac-cording to scholars (the sev-enth Uttara Kānda is consid-ered a later addition). Valmiki named five of the Kāndas after the events associated with the subject matter of the Kānda. So we have the following titles for these Kāndas:

First chapter – Bāla – Kāndam deals with the birth and youth of Rama ending with his marriage to Sita

Second chapter – Ayo-dhya Kāndam – deals with the palace intrigue which resulted in Rama’s banishment to the forest

Third chapter – Aranya Kāndam – deals with Rama and Sita’s stay in the forest and ends with the abduction of Sita

Fourth chapter – Kish-kindha Kāndam – deals with

Rama making friends with Su-griva who sends the Vanaras to search for Sita

Sixth chapter – Yuddha Kāndam – deals with the bat-tle with the forces of Ravana and ends with the coronation of Rama.

However, with regard to the fifth chapter, Valmiki has seen fit to give it a spe-cial name. He did not call it Lanka Kāndam or even Hanu-mat Kāndam, even though the story revolved round Hanuman and Lanka. Instead he chose to call it Sundara – meaning “beautiful”, “elegant”, “charm-ing”, “auspicious”. Why did Val-miki choose to single out this Kāndam above all others? It cannot be because of its size, for it is in fact the shortest with less than 3000 slokas. All parts of the Ramayana are beauti-ful and charming as well, so it cannot be merely on account of its charm. What then is the special place of the Sundara Kāndam in the Ramayana?

If we study the Rama-yana in its original it becomes clear that in this Kāndam Val-miki was at the height of po-etic prowess – this section is Valmiki’s literary and poetic masterpiece. In its depiction

of events, places and charac-ters it is truly Sundara. But it is this and much more. For the word Sundara has many allied meanings and can be applied to all auspicious events.

It is Sundara because it brings glad tidings. Sita, alone and forlorn in Lanka, is relieved of her misery by Ha-numan, and Rama too by the news that Sita had been found.

It is Sundara because sundara also means a mes-sage and messenger. Hanu-man the messenger brings the message of hope to Sita.

It is Sundara because it brings two lovers into mutual contact through an intermedi-ary – Sundara is the name of such an intermediary.

It is Sundara because sundara is the name for mon-key and this section deals with the exploits of the monkey Ha-numan.

It is Sundara because sundara means the recovery of something lost. Sita was lost and was found in this section.

And finally it is Sunda-ra, auspicious, for it contains

the spiritual essence of the Ramayana.

Just as the Choodama-ni (crest jewel) of Sita brought back by Hanuman soothed the heart of Rama, so does the Sundara Kāndam shine as the crest jewel of the Ramayana. It is a mine of spiritual power on which a devotee can draw for spiritual support. Devout Hin-dus believe that daily repetition is potent enough to lift man up from difficult situations, to help in the curing of dangerous dis-eases, to help him attain suc-cess and prosperity, and to promote his welfare in life in every way.

Hanuman –The main charac-ter

Of all the characters in the Ramayana, Hanuman has a special appeal. He is un-doubtedly the true hero of the Ramayana. The whole of the Sundara Kāndam is dedicated to the exploits of Hanuman. In the whole Ramayana dealing with about a span of 35 years, the Sundara Kāndam depicts the events of just one day! But what a day it is.

Valmiki develops well the events leading to the dis-covery of Sita. First, the dis-

13

covery of Hanuman himself, i.e. the realization of his true capabilities, then the great feat of crossing the ocean against mighty obstacles, the search for Sita in the night re-sulting in the dawn of discov-ery, the destruction of Lanka and finally his triumphant return. All these events are brought before us in beauty and charm by the genius of Valmiki. And in these events Valmiki has fully developed the character of Hanuman – his valour and foibles, his de-pression and perseverance, his struggle and his triumph. He is therefore rightfully called “buddhimatām variṣṭham – the best among the astute”. The two events described be-low will illustrate the fitness of the epithet.

Hanuman’s discomfiture

In his search for Sita, Hanuman enters the palace of Ravana and after an ex-tensive search enters the in-ner apartments. There he sees the women of Ravana in various states of dress and undress, blissfully sleeping after a night of revelry. He moves about these women looking for Sita but fails to find her. As he was moving about the inner apartments a

thought struck him filling him with remorse. He thought, “I have committed a great sin in looking at these women in their sleep. This act of mine is against the moral codes of so-ciety.” He becomes ashamed, sorrowful and penitent. Then the power of his own discrimi-nation brought him out of this disconsolate mood so that he could accomplish his task. “I had no choice. Where else can one find a woman except in the places of women?” And then he makes a remarkable observation. “I have seen these unsuspecting women of Ravana, yet my mind is not in the least affected by impure thoughts.”

Mano hi hetuḥ sarveṣām indriyāṇām pravartate,Śubhāśubhāsvavasthāsu tac-ca me suvyavasthitam.

“Mind is verily the chief factor that prompts the senses to do good and bad actions. Now that mind of mine has remained absolutely unshaken.” (Chapter 11 verse 43).

The basis of spiritu-al sādhanā is control of the mind. The scriptures declare that liberation and bondage are entirely dependent on the

ways Sita could have died to account for his being unable to find her even after an exten-sive search. Worse, his imagi-nation, feeding on his negative outlook began to conjure up possible outcomes of his fail-ure, plunging him deeper and deeper into the well of despair dug by his own mind.

“What will happen if I go back and tell Rama that Sita could not be found? It is cer-tain that hearing these heart-rending words of mine, he will immediately die of sorrow and shock. Seeing Rama stricken dead by sorrow, Lakshmana is not likely to survive. On hear-ing that both his brothers are dead, the faithful Bharata too will die and Satrughna will fol-low suit. Surely perceiving the death of their children, the mothers will also not survive. When Rama dies, Sugriva the faithful will certainly give ups life, followed by the vanara host.”

“Thus a great calam-ity will take place if I return with the bad news. It is better to commit suicide here and now by entering into the fire or drowning myself in the ocean. Or perhaps I should become an ascetic dwelling alone in the forest, consuming what-

state of one’s mind. He whose mind is affected by sense ob-jects is in bondage, while the liberated person is one whose mind is unaffected by sense objects and free from desires. Hanuman, through his dedica-tion to the ideal of service to Rama, has been able to tran-scend his lower nature.

Hanuman’s depression and triumph

After searching the pal-ace of Ravana for Sita and fail-ing to find her, Hanuman en-ters into a mood of despair. He becomes filled with negative thoughts and his mind began to create various disastrous consequences of his failure robbing him of all strength and energy.

“I have searched for Sita all over the palace of Ra-vana, yet am unable to find her. Is she still alive, or has Ravana killed her because she was faithful to Rama and es-tablished in dharma? Or has she died of fright or sorrow? Did Ravana even bring her here? Perhaps she fell down and drowned while being car-ried over the ocean?”

Like this Hanuman began to imagine the various

14

covery of Hanuman himself, i.e. the realization of his true capabilities, then the great feat of crossing the ocean against mighty obstacles, the search for Sita in the night re-sulting in the dawn of discov-ery, the destruction of Lanka and finally his triumphant return. All these events are brought before us in beauty and charm by the genius of Valmiki. And in these events Valmiki has fully developed the character of Hanuman – his valour and foibles, his de-pression and perseverance, his struggle and his triumph. He is therefore rightfully called “buddhimatām variṣṭham – the best among the astute”. The two events described be-low will illustrate the fitness of the epithet.

Hanuman’s discomfiture

In his search for Sita, Hanuman enters the palace of Ravana and after an ex-tensive search enters the in-ner apartments. There he sees the women of Ravana in various states of dress and undress, blissfully sleeping after a night of revelry. He moves about these women looking for Sita but fails to find her. As he was moving about the inner apartments a

thought struck him filling him with remorse. He thought, “I have committed a great sin in looking at these women in their sleep. This act of mine is against the moral codes of so-ciety.” He becomes ashamed, sorrowful and penitent. Then the power of his own discrimi-nation brought him out of this disconsolate mood so that he could accomplish his task. “I had no choice. Where else can one find a woman except in the places of women?” And then he makes a remarkable observation. “I have seen these unsuspecting women of Ravana, yet my mind is not in the least affected by impure thoughts.”

Mano hi hetuḥ sarveṣām indriyāṇām pravartate,Śubhāśubhāsvavasthāsu tac-ca me suvyavasthitam.

“Mind is verily the chief factor that prompts the senses to do good and bad actions. Now that mind of mine has remained absolutely unshaken.” (Chapter 11 verse 43).

The basis of spiritu-al sādhanā is control of the mind. The scriptures declare that liberation and bondage are entirely dependent on the

ways Sita could have died to account for his being unable to find her even after an exten-sive search. Worse, his imagi-nation, feeding on his negative outlook began to conjure up possible outcomes of his fail-ure, plunging him deeper and deeper into the well of despair dug by his own mind.

“What will happen if I go back and tell Rama that Sita could not be found? It is cer-tain that hearing these heart-rending words of mine, he will immediately die of sorrow and shock. Seeing Rama stricken dead by sorrow, Lakshmana is not likely to survive. On hear-ing that both his brothers are dead, the faithful Bharata too will die and Satrughna will fol-low suit. Surely perceiving the death of their children, the mothers will also not survive. When Rama dies, Sugriva the faithful will certainly give ups life, followed by the vanara host.”

“Thus a great calam-ity will take place if I return with the bad news. It is better to commit suicide here and now by entering into the fire or drowning myself in the ocean. Or perhaps I should become an ascetic dwelling alone in the forest, consuming what-

state of one’s mind. He whose mind is affected by sense ob-jects is in bondage, while the liberated person is one whose mind is unaffected by sense objects and free from desires. Hanuman, through his dedica-tion to the ideal of service to Rama, has been able to tran-scend his lower nature.

Hanuman’s depression and triumph

After searching the pal-ace of Ravana for Sita and fail-ing to find her, Hanuman en-ters into a mood of despair. He becomes filled with negative thoughts and his mind began to create various disastrous consequences of his failure robbing him of all strength and energy.

“I have searched for Sita all over the palace of Ra-vana, yet am unable to find her. Is she still alive, or has Ravana killed her because she was faithful to Rama and es-tablished in dharma? Or has she died of fright or sorrow? Did Ravana even bring her here? Perhaps she fell down and drowned while being car-ried over the ocean?”

Like this Hanuman began to imagine the various

15

“The way to prosperity is never through despair but through perseverance. To be free from despair is real happi-ness. Only one who never de-spairs can show interest and enthusiasm in any work.”

“What ensures suc-cess in an action is the spirit of enthusiasm and persever-ance. So without falling prey to despair I shall now make an attempt again with all enthusi-asm.”

(Chapter 12 verses 10,11).

Then the powerful Ha-numan, meditating for a while on Sri Rama and Sita, rose from his seat to begin the search once more. Thus did the son of Vayu break asunder the bondage of grief and tri-umph in his mission.

Spiritual Significance

The eternal Vedas teach of the four goals (Pu-rusharthas) of man – Dharma (duty, ethics and morality to maintain a civilized society), Artha (prosperity and general welfare for all), Kama (the en-joyment of legitimate worldly pleasures) and Moksha (liber-ation through Self-realization and union with God). Devotees

ever pure food that comes my way.” Thus does the weak mind, unable to face the dif-ficulties of life, succumb to its own imaginations. It is in such moments that spiritual knowl-edge dealing with the real na-ture of man and the goal of life come to one’s aid, first by plac-ing all situations in their correct perspective, then by bringing up from the depths of the soul the divine energy to bravely face all tribulations and make him exert his best effort un-concerned as to the success or failure of his efforts. This is the call of Swami Vivekananda to all mankind, “Arise! Awake! And stop not till the goal is reached.”

So too does the valiant Hanuman succeed in com-ing out of the dark pit dug by his own imagination. Draw-ing upon his inner resources he overcomes all negative thoughts with positive ones.

Anirvedaḥ śriyo mūlam anirvedaḥ param sukham;Anirvedo hi satatam sarvārtheṣu pravartakaḥ.Karoti saphalam jantoḥ karma yat tat karoti saḥ;Tasmād anirvedakṛtam yat-nam ceṣṭe’ham uttamam.

equate the Ramayana with the Veda itself and firmly believe that its daily recital, in particu-lar the Sundara Chapter, will confer the four-fold Purush-arthas stated above.

If the Ramayana is compared to the Veda, then the Sundara Chapter rep-resents the Upanishads of the Vedas which deal explic-itly with Moksha. Philosopher devotees have found that the great sage Valmiki had hidden a deep allegorical meaning in the narrative of the Sundara Kāndam, thus justifying its

unique name.

The Sundara Chapter depicts the quest of the awakened spiritual aspirant to cross over the ocean of Samsara and seek the Divine Spirit within. Hanuman is the awakened soul – the Dhira, the hero – endowed with Sattva, ready to undertake the arduous task which the Upanishads describe as “walking on the razor’s edge”. Jambavan is the enlightened spiritual teacher who awakens him to the knowledge of his divine nature, and rompts him to

manifest that divin-ity withiin, echoing the Upanishadic mantra “Utthiṣṭhata! Jāgrata!” – Arise! Awake!

The vast ocean before him is the ocean of Samsara – this life in the world with all its attractions and dangers – the “sweet and bitter fruits” depicted in the Upanishads. The as-pirant has to struggle and cross this ocean using the two quali-ties of discrimination (viveka) and dispas-sion (vairāgya), lik-

16

“The way to prosperity is never through despair but through perseverance. To be free from despair is real happi-ness. Only one who never de-spairs can show interest and enthusiasm in any work.”

“What ensures suc-cess in an action is the spirit of enthusiasm and persever-ance. So without falling prey to despair I shall now make an attempt again with all enthusi-asm.”

(Chapter 12 verses 10,11).

Then the powerful Ha-numan, meditating for a while on Sri Rama and Sita, rose from his seat to begin the search once more. Thus did the son of Vayu break asunder the bondage of grief and tri-umph in his mission.

Spiritual Significance

The eternal Vedas teach of the four goals (Pu-rusharthas) of man – Dharma (duty, ethics and morality to maintain a civilized society), Artha (prosperity and general welfare for all), Kama (the en-joyment of legitimate worldly pleasures) and Moksha (liber-ation through Self-realization and union with God). Devotees

ever pure food that comes my way.” Thus does the weak mind, unable to face the dif-ficulties of life, succumb to its own imaginations. It is in such moments that spiritual knowl-edge dealing with the real na-ture of man and the goal of life come to one’s aid, first by plac-ing all situations in their correct perspective, then by bringing up from the depths of the soul the divine energy to bravely face all tribulations and make him exert his best effort un-concerned as to the success or failure of his efforts. This is the call of Swami Vivekananda to all mankind, “Arise! Awake! And stop not till the goal is reached.”

So too does the valiant Hanuman succeed in com-ing out of the dark pit dug by his own imagination. Draw-ing upon his inner resources he overcomes all negative thoughts with positive ones.

Anirvedaḥ śriyo mūlam anirvedaḥ param sukham;Anirvedo hi satatam sarvārtheṣu pravartakaḥ.Karoti saphalam jantoḥ karma yat tat karoti saḥ;Tasmād anirvedakṛtam yat-nam ceṣṭe’ham uttamam.

equate the Ramayana with the Veda itself and firmly believe that its daily recital, in particu-lar the Sundara Chapter, will confer the four-fold Purush-arthas stated above.

If the Ramayana is compared to the Veda, then the Sundara Chapter rep-resents the Upanishads of the Vedas which deal explic-itly with Moksha. Philosopher devotees have found that the great sage Valmiki had hidden a deep allegorical meaning in the narrative of the Sundara Kāndam, thus justifying its

unique name.

The Sundara Chapter depicts the quest of the awakened spiritual aspirant to cross over the ocean of Samsara and seek the Divine Spirit within. Hanuman is the awakened soul – the Dhira, the hero – endowed with Sattva, ready to undertake the arduous task which the Upanishads describe as “walking on the razor’s edge”. Jambavan is the enlightened spiritual teacher who awakens him to the knowledge of his divine nature, and rompts him to

manifest that divin-ity withiin, echoing the Upanishadic mantra “Utthiṣṭhata! Jāgrata!” – Arise! Awake!

The vast ocean before him is the ocean of Samsara – this life in the world with all its attractions and dangers – the “sweet and bitter fruits” depicted in the Upanishads. The as-pirant has to struggle and cross this ocean using the two quali-ties of discrimination (viveka) and dispas-sion (vairāgya), lik-

17

ened to the two wings of a bird. Mainaka, Surasa, Simhika and others are the obstacles that come in the way of the spiritual aspirant, who must overcome them so as not to be diverted from the spiritual goal.

Hanuman’s search for Sita all through the night is il-lustrative of the dictum in the Srimad Bhagavad Gita:

Yā niśā sarvabhūtānām tasyām jāgarti samyamī ,Yasyām jāgrati bhūtāni sā niśā paśyato muneḥ .

“That which is night to all igno-rant beings, the self-controlled sage is awake; and the sen-sate life to which all ignorant beings are awake, that is like night to the illumined sage.” (Gita 2-69)

Lanka with all its fortifi-cations and gardens and pal-aces through which Hanuman makes his search represents the various layers of personal-ity (Kośas) through which the aspirant must penetrate. The search is long and arduous and often disappointing, as it

was in the case of Hanuman. But the aspirant has to perse-vere with vigilance, determina-tion and enthusiasm and with faith in the Supreme Spirit.

The search at last ends with the discovery of the Divin-ity in himself represented by Sita. And this discovery brings about supreme bliss.

Thus the Ramayana as a whole and the Sundara Kāndam in particular, is a mine of spiritual inspiration and all round welfare and strength.

Yatra yatra raghunātha-kīrtanam tatra tatra kṛtamastakāñjalim,

bāṣpavāri paripūrṇa-locanam mārutim namata rākṣasāntakam.

“I prostrate before Maruti, the dealer of death to the Rakshasas, who, with head bent down, palms folded in adoration, and eyes brim-ming with tears, frequents eve-ry place where Rama’s name is glorified.”

Ravana’s plan to capture SitaN.Narandran

(Continued from last issue)

The Ramayana - 24

The shrewd Akampana informed Ravana that Rama had a wife of un-

surpassed beauty and that Rama was totally devoted to her. If Sita was captured, Rama , unable to withstand the separation from his be-loved wife, would pine and die.

Ravana was enamoured of Akampana’s suggestion and relished the prospect of gaining another beautiful queen and wife. He decided to leave the fol-lowing morning to capture Sita and return to Lanka with her.

Early the next morning, Ra-vana mounted his mule-yoked chariot and went straight to the ashrama of Maricha, an ascetic, who was surprised by the unexpected visit by the emperor of the rakshasas. Ravana informed him that his entire army in Janasthana had been annihilated single-handedly by a man named Rama and that he intended to capture his wife named Sita and retreat to Lanka. He had come to seek Mari-

cha’s help in this bold plan.The moment Maricha heard the name Rama, he visibly became disturbed and hor-rified by the idea. He asked Ravana who had made this foolhardy suggestion. It must have been someone who had a grudge and wanted the total annihilation of the Rakshasa race. Attempting to seize Sita from Rama was like trying to extract a fang from the mouth of a venomous snake. Maricha advised Ravana to forget this plan and to return to Lanka.

Ravana pondered and real-ised the wisdom of Maricha’s words, for all the boons he had secured protected him from all beings except men and monkeys. So he gave up the idea of capturing Sita and returned to Lanka.

Meanwhile, Ravana’s sister Soorpanakha, mutilated and humiliated, decided to go to Ravana’s court and spur him into retaliatory action. The ten-headed Ravana was seated on his throne with his coun-

18

ened to the two wings of a bird. Mainaka, Surasa, Simhika and others are the obstacles that come in the way of the spiritual aspirant, who must overcome them so as not to be diverted from the spiritual goal.

Hanuman’s search for Sita all through the night is il-lustrative of the dictum in the Srimad Bhagavad Gita:

Yā niśā sarvabhūtānām tasyām jāgarti samyamī ,Yasyām jāgrati bhūtāni sā niśā paśyato muneḥ .

“That which is night to all igno-rant beings, the self-controlled sage is awake; and the sen-sate life to which all ignorant beings are awake, that is like night to the illumined sage.” (Gita 2-69)

Lanka with all its fortifi-cations and gardens and pal-aces through which Hanuman makes his search represents the various layers of personal-ity (Kośas) through which the aspirant must penetrate. The search is long and arduous and often disappointing, as it

was in the case of Hanuman. But the aspirant has to perse-vere with vigilance, determina-tion and enthusiasm and with faith in the Supreme Spirit.

The search at last ends with the discovery of the Divin-ity in himself represented by Sita. And this discovery brings about supreme bliss.

Thus the Ramayana as a whole and the Sundara Kāndam in particular, is a mine of spiritual inspiration and all round welfare and strength.

Yatra yatra raghunātha-kīrtanam tatra tatra kṛtamastakāñjalim,

bāṣpavāri paripūrṇa-locanam mārutim namata rākṣasāntakam.

“I prostrate before Maruti, the dealer of death to the Rakshasas, who, with head bent down, palms folded in adoration, and eyes brim-ming with tears, frequents eve-ry place where Rama’s name is glorified.”

Ravana’s plan to capture SitaN.Narandran

(Continued from last issue)

The Ramayana - 24

The shrewd Akampana informed Ravana that Rama had a wife of un-

surpassed beauty and that Rama was totally devoted to her. If Sita was captured, Rama , unable to withstand the separation from his be-loved wife, would pine and die.

Ravana was enamoured of Akampana’s suggestion and relished the prospect of gaining another beautiful queen and wife. He decided to leave the fol-lowing morning to capture Sita and return to Lanka with her.

Early the next morning, Ra-vana mounted his mule-yoked chariot and went straight to the ashrama of Maricha, an ascetic, who was surprised by the unexpected visit by the emperor of the rakshasas. Ravana informed him that his entire army in Janasthana had been annihilated single-handedly by a man named Rama and that he intended to capture his wife named Sita and retreat to Lanka. He had come to seek Mari-

cha’s help in this bold plan.The moment Maricha heard the name Rama, he visibly became disturbed and hor-rified by the idea. He asked Ravana who had made this foolhardy suggestion. It must have been someone who had a grudge and wanted the total annihilation of the Rakshasa race. Attempting to seize Sita from Rama was like trying to extract a fang from the mouth of a venomous snake. Maricha advised Ravana to forget this plan and to return to Lanka.

Ravana pondered and real-ised the wisdom of Maricha’s words, for all the boons he had secured protected him from all beings except men and monkeys. So he gave up the idea of capturing Sita and returned to Lanka.

Meanwhile, Ravana’s sister Soorpanakha, mutilated and humiliated, decided to go to Ravana’s court and spur him into retaliatory action. The ten-headed Ravana was seated on his throne with his coun-

19

sellors around him when Soorpanakha entered. He was an imposing figure that commanded respect and awe. Soorpanaka went up to him but for a moment Ra-vana could not recognise his bleeding and mutilated sister. She began a tirade against him, accusing him of indulg-ing in sensual pleasures and disregarding the dangers that threatened his kingdom. He was arrogant and ignorant of the imminent dangers to his throne. His brothers Khara, Dushana, Trishiras and the entire army of Janasthana had been destroyed by a sin-gle man named Rama. Ja-nasthana could no longer be

a Rakshasa stronghold in the Dandaka forest. Ravana was unfit to be a king and would soon lose his kingdom if noth-ing was done, she warned.

Ravana listened to all these and he began to fume. Stung by his sister’s harsh words, he demanded to know more about this man Rama. Soor-panakha gave an account of Rama’s noble heritage and his brother Lakshmana’s devotion to his brother. Both were in-vincible. Rama’s wife Sita was totally devoted to him. There was none as beautiful as she and she would make an excel-lent addition to Ravana’s har-em. Capturing her would also

avenge the pain that Rama had caused her. Soorpanakha urged Ravana to kill Rama and Lakshmana and take Sita back to Lanka as his bride and restore his diminishing prestige among his subjects.

Ravana dismissed his min-isters and retired to ponder carefully his sister’s words and also the wise counsel of Mari-cha. He finally decided on a course of action and ordered that his chariot be brought. He mounted his chariot and went to meet Maricha for a second time. There he explained why he had come unannounced.

Ravana requested Maricah’s help to avenge all the death and shame that Rama had brought upon the Rakshasas. Rama had killed his brothers, mutilated his sister and killed fourteen thousand of Ravana’s men with the result that the rishis roamed the Dandaka forest with impunity. He told Maricha about how Rama had been banished to the forest for some misdeed and now roamed the forest with his wife Sita.. Ravana explained that he intended to punish Rama by capturing Sita. With Sita gone,

Rama would surely languish in sorrow and be an easy target to destroy. Maricha listened with increasing apprehension.

Ravana requested Maricha’s help in capturing Sita. Maricha was to transform himself into a silver-spotted deer and wan-der around Rama’s asharama. Sita, seeing this beautiful crea-ture would plead with Rama and Lakshmana to capture the deer for her. Maricha would lure Rama and Lakshama away from their ashrama. With Sita alone and unprotected, Ravana could easily seize her and take her away unnoticed.

Maricha was stunned by Ra-vana’s audacious but impossi-ble plan. Maricha grew fright-ened and told Ravana that he had been ill advised and that he did not know everything he needed to know about Rama. He should give up this plan for it would invite certain death.. Ravana was so convinced that his plan would would work that he dismissed his uncle’s advice and ordered him to perform his role as the deer in his plan. Maricha knew that Ravana was inevitably inviting destruc-tion at the hands of Rama.

(To be continued)

References:1.Ramayana by Kamala Subramaniam2. Ramayana by C. Rajagopalachari

20

sellors around him when Soorpanakha entered. He was an imposing figure that commanded respect and awe. Soorpanaka went up to him but for a moment Ra-vana could not recognise his bleeding and mutilated sister. She began a tirade against him, accusing him of indulg-ing in sensual pleasures and disregarding the dangers that threatened his kingdom. He was arrogant and ignorant of the imminent dangers to his throne. His brothers Khara, Dushana, Trishiras and the entire army of Janasthana had been destroyed by a sin-gle man named Rama. Ja-nasthana could no longer be

a Rakshasa stronghold in the Dandaka forest. Ravana was unfit to be a king and would soon lose his kingdom if noth-ing was done, she warned.

Ravana listened to all these and he began to fume. Stung by his sister’s harsh words, he demanded to know more about this man Rama. Soor-panakha gave an account of Rama’s noble heritage and his brother Lakshmana’s devotion to his brother. Both were in-vincible. Rama’s wife Sita was totally devoted to him. There was none as beautiful as she and she would make an excel-lent addition to Ravana’s har-em. Capturing her would also

avenge the pain that Rama had caused her. Soorpanakha urged Ravana to kill Rama and Lakshmana and take Sita back to Lanka as his bride and restore his diminishing prestige among his subjects.

Ravana dismissed his min-isters and retired to ponder carefully his sister’s words and also the wise counsel of Mari-cha. He finally decided on a course of action and ordered that his chariot be brought. He mounted his chariot and went to meet Maricha for a second time. There he explained why he had come unannounced.

Ravana requested Maricah’s help to avenge all the death and shame that Rama had brought upon the Rakshasas. Rama had killed his brothers, mutilated his sister and killed fourteen thousand of Ravana’s men with the result that the rishis roamed the Dandaka forest with impunity. He told Maricha about how Rama had been banished to the forest for some misdeed and now roamed the forest with his wife Sita.. Ravana explained that he intended to punish Rama by capturing Sita. With Sita gone,

Rama would surely languish in sorrow and be an easy target to destroy. Maricha listened with increasing apprehension.

Ravana requested Maricha’s help in capturing Sita. Maricha was to transform himself into a silver-spotted deer and wan-der around Rama’s asharama. Sita, seeing this beautiful crea-ture would plead with Rama and Lakshmana to capture the deer for her. Maricha would lure Rama and Lakshama away from their ashrama. With Sita alone and unprotected, Ravana could easily seize her and take her away unnoticed.

Maricha was stunned by Ra-vana’s audacious but impossi-ble plan. Maricha grew fright-ened and told Ravana that he had been ill advised and that he did not know everything he needed to know about Rama. He should give up this plan for it would invite certain death.. Ravana was so convinced that his plan would would work that he dismissed his uncle’s advice and ordered him to perform his role as the deer in his plan. Maricha knew that Ravana was inevitably inviting destruc-tion at the hands of Rama.

(To be continued)

References:1.Ramayana by Kamala Subramaniam2. Ramayana by C. Rajagopalachari

21

If today you ask anybody below the age of 30 what a “Gramo-

phone” is, the likely answer will be “never heard of it.” The telephone and its evolutes the Mobile, the “I” series etc have obliterated any memo-ry of the grand old invention.

The dictionary describes gramophone as “an instrument for the mechanical recording of sounds, primarilly on a wax disc.” This was one of the ma-jor inventions of Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) in the 19th century, who also invented other gadgets like electric light and motion picture camera.

When this American genius in-vented the gramophone record which could record human voices for posterity, he wanted to record the voice of an emi-

nent scholar on his first piece. He chose Prof Max Muller, an outstand-ing personality of the 19th cen-tury, and wrote to him, “I want to meet you and record your voice. When should I come?”

Max Muller, who held Edison in great respect, asked him to come at a suitable time when most of the scholars of Europe would be gathering in England.

Edison took a ship to Eng-land. When he appeared at the gathering, he was en-thusiastically cheered by the audience. Later, at Edison’s request, Max Muller came on the stage and spoke in front of the instrument. Edison then went back to his laboratory and by afternoon came back with a disc. He played the gramophone disc from his in-

The Gramophone strument. The audience was thrilled to hear the voice of Max Muller from the instrument. They were glad that voices of great personalities such as Max Muller could be stored for the benefit of posterity.

After lengthy applause and congratulations to Edison, Max Muller came on stage and addressed the audience. He asked them, “You heard my original voice in the morn-ing. Then you heard the same voice coming out from this instrument in the afternoon. Did you understand what I said in the morning or what you heard in the afternoon?”The audience fell silent be-cause they could not under-stand the language in which Max Muller had spoken. It was “Greek and Latin” to them as they say. But had it been Greek or Latin, they would have definitely understood because they came from vari-ous parts of Europe. It was in a language which the Europe-an scholars had never heard.

Max Muller then explained what he had spoken. He said the language he spoke was SANSKRIT and it was the first sloka (verse) of the Rig Veda. This was the first recorded ver-sion on the gramophone plate.

The verse goes like this

Agnimile Purohitam yajnasya devamrtvijam Hotaram ratnadhatamam

Its meaning:: Oh Agni, You who gleam in the darkness, to You we come day by day

With devotion and bear-ing homage. So be of easy access to us,

Agni, as a father to his son, abide with us for our well being.”

Why did Max Muller choose this piece? Addressing the audience, he said: “Vedas are the oldest text of the human race. And Agni Mile Purohitam is the first verse of the Rig Veda. In the most pri-mordial time, when the peo-ple did not know even to cov-er their bodies and lived by hunting and housed in caves, Indians had attained high civilization and they gave the world universal philoso-phies in the form of Vedas.”

When “Agni Mile Purohi-tam” was replayed, the en-tire audience stood up in si-lence as a mark of respect for the ancient Hindu sages.

22

If today you ask anybody below the age of 30 what a “Gramo-

phone” is, the likely answer will be “never heard of it.” The telephone and its evolutes the Mobile, the “I” series etc have obliterated any memo-ry of the grand old invention.

The dictionary describes gramophone as “an instrument for the mechanical recording of sounds, primarilly on a wax disc.” This was one of the ma-jor inventions of Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) in the 19th century, who also invented other gadgets like electric light and motion picture camera.

When this American genius in-vented the gramophone record which could record human voices for posterity, he wanted to record the voice of an emi-

nent scholar on his first piece. He chose Prof Max Muller, an outstand-ing personality of the 19th cen-tury, and wrote to him, “I want to meet you and record your voice. When should I come?”

Max Muller, who held Edison in great respect, asked him to come at a suitable time when most of the scholars of Europe would be gathering in England.

Edison took a ship to Eng-land. When he appeared at the gathering, he was en-thusiastically cheered by the audience. Later, at Edison’s request, Max Muller came on the stage and spoke in front of the instrument. Edison then went back to his laboratory and by afternoon came back with a disc. He played the gramophone disc from his in-

The Gramophone strument. The audience was thrilled to hear the voice of Max Muller from the instrument. They were glad that voices of great personalities such as Max Muller could be stored for the benefit of posterity.

After lengthy applause and congratulations to Edison, Max Muller came on stage and addressed the audience. He asked them, “You heard my original voice in the morn-ing. Then you heard the same voice coming out from this instrument in the afternoon. Did you understand what I said in the morning or what you heard in the afternoon?”The audience fell silent be-cause they could not under-stand the language in which Max Muller had spoken. It was “Greek and Latin” to them as they say. But had it been Greek or Latin, they would have definitely understood because they came from vari-ous parts of Europe. It was in a language which the Europe-an scholars had never heard.

Max Muller then explained what he had spoken. He said the language he spoke was SANSKRIT and it was the first sloka (verse) of the Rig Veda. This was the first recorded ver-sion on the gramophone plate.

The verse goes like this

Agnimile Purohitam yajnasya devamrtvijam Hotaram ratnadhatamam

Its meaning:: Oh Agni, You who gleam in the darkness, to You we come day by day

With devotion and bear-ing homage. So be of easy access to us,

Agni, as a father to his son, abide with us for our well being.”

Why did Max Muller choose this piece? Addressing the audience, he said: “Vedas are the oldest text of the human race. And Agni Mile Purohitam is the first verse of the Rig Veda. In the most pri-mordial time, when the peo-ple did not know even to cov-er their bodies and lived by hunting and housed in caves, Indians had attained high civilization and they gave the world universal philoso-phies in the form of Vedas.”

When “Agni Mile Purohi-tam” was replayed, the en-tire audience stood up in si-lence as a mark of respect for the ancient Hindu sages.

23

24

25

PARIS: As part of the world-wide ceremo-nies marking the 150th

Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, a commemo-rative plaque was unveiled at 39, rue Gazan, 75014 Paris, where the Swami stayed for some time in 1900.

The function, held on 8 March 2012, was jointly organized by the Town Hall of the 14th Dis-trict of Paris, the Cite Interna-tionale Universitaire de Paris (CIUP), the Indian Embassy and the Centre Vedantique Ramakrishna, Gretz.

The plaque was jointly un-veiled by Mr Pascal Cherki, Mayor of Paris, 14th District, Deputy Mayor Mrs Daniele Pourtoud and Mrs Gaitri Ku-mar, Chargee des Affaires at the Indian Embassy. Also pre-sent were Swami Veetamo-

hananda, President of the Cen-tre Vedantique Ramakrishna.

Mayor Cherki recalled the im-mense contributions of Swami Vivekananda to the world at large. “Paris was privileged to host this great man,” he said.

A devotional touch was added when the renowned singer and a former Paris resident, Sharmila Roy Pommot ren-dered two songs – one sung by Swami Vivekananda when he first met Sri Ramakrishna as a student, and the other com-posed by Swamiji in French.

An exhibition of some 40 large portraits commemo-rating the 1893 Parliament of Religions in Chicago prepared for the 1993 Cente-nary organized by UNESCO marked the finale of the function.

Paris remembers Swamiji

.... The Centre Ven-dantique was started in Par-is in 1937 and later shifted to its present home in Gretz, about 30km from Paris. It conducts regular worship, mediation and prayers in

the shrine, con-ducts classses and lectures and frequent seminars and summer courses on Art, Yoga , Philosophy etc.. It also publishes a quar-terly magazine Vedanta.

TEM

PLE

PR

OG

RA

MM

ED

aily

6.

00am

M

anga

lara

ti

9.00

am

Puj

a

7.00

pm

Eve

ning

Ara

ti &

Bha

jan

Ekad

ashi

6.

15pm

V

ishnu

Sah

asra

nam

am

7.00

pm

Ara

ti fo

llow

ed b

y Ra

ma-

Nam

a

S

anki

rtan

am

DIS

CO

UR

SES

and

CLA

SSES

Satu

rday

s

5.00

pm

Relig

ious

-Bha

jan

& C

ultu

ral C

lass

es

For

Chi

ldre

n (T

empl

e ha

ll –

I lev

el)

6.

00pm

St

udy

of th

e Bh

agav

ad G

ita

b

y Sw

ami S

atya

loka

nand

a (L

ibra

ry)

7.

30pm

Ve

dic C

hant

ing

& B

haja

n C

lass

(T

empl

e)Su

nday

s

9.30

am

Yog

a C

lass

(Sar

ada

Hal

l)

4.00

pm

Sans

krit

Lang

uage

Cla

sses

(L

ibra

ry)

5.

00pm

Disc

ours

e on

“Sve

tasv

atar

a U

pani

shad

”

b

y Sw

ami S

amac

hitta

nand

a

(T

empl

e ha

ll –

I lev

el)

6.

00pm

D

iscou

rse

on “V

ishnu

Sah

asra

nam

a”

by S

wam

i Muk

tirup

anan

da

(Sa

rada

Hal

l)

FEST

IVA

L C

ALE

ND

ER

(Jul

y 20

12 -

Sep

2012

)

July

201

2

03 T

uesd

ay

G

uru

Purn

ima

14 S

atur

day

Eka

dash

i17

Thur

sday

Birt

hday

of S

wam

i

Ram

akris

hnan

anda

29 S

unda

y

E

kada

shi

Augu

st 2

012

02 Th

ursd

ay

B

irthd

ay o

f Sw

ami

N

iranj

anan

anda

09 Th

ursd

ay

S

ri K

rishn

a Ja

nmas

htam

i13

Mon

day

Eka

dash

i16

Thur

sday

Birt

hday

of

S

wam

i Adv

aita

nand

a27

Mon

day

Eka

dash

i

Sept

embe

r 201

2

12 W

edne

sday

Eka

dash

i26

Wed

nesd

ay

Ekad

ashi